Paralympic gold medallist Mark Colbourne has revealed he had to show strong mental resilience as well as physical strength to achieve his dreams in London over the summer.

Colbourne, 43, suffered a near-fatal crash whilst paragliding in 2009 and suffered a broken back but he fought his way back to start competing in para-cycling.

The Welshman went into the Paralympic Games in great form and secured two silver medals before setting a new world record on his way to gold in the 3km individual pursuit.

Colbourne explained the extent of his injuries and why cycling suited him as his sport of choice following his injury.

“My passion was sport even though I worked full-time, unfortunately I had a (paragliding) accident and had quite a severe break,” he told Press Association Sport.

“Disability Sport gave me a lifeline and gave me the opportunity to try cycling, because I knew even though I’d suffered lower-leg paralysis, my quadriceps weren’t affected – so even though I couldn’t walk properly I could ride a bike, which is quite surreal.”

But as well as the physical exertion required to continue competing in a sporting environment, after first trying his hand at rowing, Colbourne reckons the mental aspect should never be overlooked.

Talking at Paralympics GB’s Sports Fest at Surrey Sports Park Colbourne said: “The mental side was sometimes even harder than the physical side. If you think of lives as human beings the one certainty we all have is that we will pass away.

“So this life we have is one small holiday and you have to enjoy it now, for me that has been a great thing in my life. I had a life before my accident but all of a sudden now I’m focusing on new things and raising my bar really high.”

Although the next Paralympic Games in Rio are almost four years away Colbourne admitted he is already training to make sure he is in perfect shape for another attempt at a decent medal haul for Paralympics GB.

When asked if he was looking forward to Brazil in 2016 he said: “Very much so, people say ’so when do you start training’ but I’ve already started,” he said.

“So it is a case of breaking back into the training regime now once again - just increasing and resting and going up and up so come Rio I will have the luxury of just under four years of preparation rather than the 18 months I’ve just had (before London 2012).

“So hopefully I can go to Rio and bring a few more of these gold medals back.”